Corona del Mar ends strong

Rick Devereux

In wrestling, someone could be losing, 14-0, in the third round and

still win by pinning his opponent. That is why coaches urge for

athletes to finish strong.

Corona del Mar High seniors Jon Dean, Taylor Alston and Robby

Richey finished strong at the Estancia invitational Saturday to earn

fifth, seventh and seventh places, respectively. The two-day

tournament featured more than 40 schools with close to 600 wrestlers.

Dean, competing in the 152-pound division, shook off disappointing

loses in the semifinal round against the No. 1 seed from Royal High

in Semi Valley and the subsequent consolation match against a Santa

Ana Valley wrestler to beat his Rancho Cucamonga opponent, 10-6, in

the fifth-place match.

“It was very important [for me to finish strong],” Dean said. “It

feels ridiculously good to finish fifth in this tournament.”

Dean’s match mirrored his showing in the tournament by finishing

strong.

He was down, 2-1, after the first round and was in danger of

ending the second round in a 5-3 hole. But, as time expired in the

round, Dean evened the score with a two-point near fall.Dean combined

a take down and a three-point near fall to take a commanding 10-5

lead and allowed a one-point escape as time expires in the match for

the 10-6 final.The perseverance Dean showed was apparent in Sea King

teammates Alston and Richey.

Alston, competing in 119s, lost his previous contest before

heading into the seventh-place match against La Serra. Alston put on

a technical clinic, racking up a 10-2 win.

“Just placing [in the top eight] makes me happy,” Alston said. “I

really wanted to get third, but I’m still happy.”

Richey (heavyweight) similarly finished with a victory. The former

offensive tackle for the CdM football team blazed his way through the

consolation round after a disappointing loss in the opening round

Friday night. He pinned his first two opponents in less than one

minute, each, but lost his next match.

In the seventh-place match against Kennedy, it looked as if Richey

would be pinned in the first round. But the senior was able to

reverse out of the predicament. In the second round, Richey exacted

revenge by pinning the Kennedy wrestler for the win.

“I think that’s the first time I’ve ever been able to get out of

being on my back,” Richey said. “I just wanted to place [in the top

eight], so I’m pretty excited.”

The determination to escape from a pinning situation impressed

Richey’s coach.

“That was huge,” Almquist said. “He has wrestled tough competition

and he has gotten tougher because of it.”

Corona had the best showing of the Newport-Mesa schools.

Efrain Alverez (189), Alex Sotomayer (160), Dave Foyler (160) and

Juny Panduro (130) all wrestled on Saturday for the host Eagles, an

improvement from last year.

Although no one placed in the top eight, Bulone was quick to point

out individual improvements.